Pilot's gun discharges on US Airways flight

[Blinking Dog]

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- A US Airways pilot’s gun accidentally discharged during a flight from Denver to Charlotte Saturday, according to as statement released by the airline. The statement said the discharge happened on Flight 1536, which left Denver at approximately 6:45am and arrived in Charlotte at approximately 11:51am. The Airbus A319 plane landed safely and none of the flight’s 124 passengers or five crew members was injured, according to the statement. It was a full flight. And airline spokeswoman said the plane has been taken out of service to make sure it is safe to return to flight. A Transportation Safety Administration spokeswoman reached by WCNC Sunday said the pilot is part of TSA’s Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program, which trains pilots to carry guns on flights. Andrea McCauley said the gun discharged in the cockpit, but she could not release how the gun was being transported at the time. She did not release the pilot’s name, but said he was authorized to carry the weapon and was last requalified in the FFDO program last November. A statement from TSA said the airplane was never in danger, and the TSA and the Federal Air Marshals Service are investigating the incident. WCNC reporter Diana Rugg is following up on this story. If you or someone you know were on that flight, please e-mail her at drugg@wcnc.com.

[longtooth]

not a good thing for our side.

[frankie_the_yankee]

Great. Just what we need. And by "we" I don't mean gun rights advoccates, I mean the flying public. What was this fool doing even touching the gun while the plane was in flight with no threat present?

I would yank this person's piliot's license ASAP. In my mind, he/she doesn't have the judgement to fly a plane full of organic-based fertilizer, let alone 200 or so passengers.

If my recollection is correct, they issue these people some variety of DAO SIG in 357 SIG caliber, right? How do you have an AD with one of those?

I'd sure like to hear the cockpit audio tape for this one.

[shootthesheet]

We will have to see how the major media covers this as to what damage is done to our side. I don't think it will be so bad. Now, after the elections this sort of event will be blown way up. That is especially true if the Dems gain more power.

[G.C.Montgomery]

It just irks me that these incidents are always reported as "the gun just went off accidently." I've sent over a half-million rounds downrange over my lifetime and I can literally count on one hand the number of firearms I've seen discharge without someone putting their booger hook in contact with the bang switch. Two incidents were mechanical failures and the remaining incidents involved automatic weapons that fired from a closed bolt and got hot enough to cook-off rounds in their chambers. Time will tell what the damage is but the report will likely be another of those times the "experts" point out that if trained "professionals" have accidents, surely us lowly civilian idiots can't be trusted with firearms.

[stevie_d_64]

I'd sure like to hear the cockpit audio tape for this one.

"BANG!" :pause: "[expletive deleted]"

--end of tape--

Sorry, I couldn't resist...

All kidding aside...If this was a stowage issue, like if it (firearm) was in his chart case or other flight bag, I could see that with any amount of fumbling around in that while the aircraft was doing its thing...Yep, I could imagine a discharge happening...

It was bound to happen one of these days...

[9mmGuy]

you mean it didnt pierce the cabin and suck the pilots out... i was reading some thing about
pilots that carry on board, and i think they are required to use a pretty elaborate lock box for these weapons, not just in a bag or something? so how does it just "go off" in a lock box?

[KBCraig]

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- A US Airways pilot’s gun accidentally discharged....

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A US Airway pilot negligently discharged his gun....

Fixed it.

[boomerang]

It sounds like a case of pilot error.

[DoubleJ]

I'd sure like to hear the cockpit audio tape for this one.

"BANG!" :pause: "[expletive deleted]"

--end of tape--

Sorry, I couldn't resist...

All kidding aside...If this was a stowage issue, like if it (firearm) was in his chart case or other flight bag, I could see that with any amount of fumbling around in that while the aircraft was doing its thing...Yep, I could imagine a discharge happening...

It was bound to happen one of these days...

you forgot the obligatory "Hey man, hol' mah beer." that starts out any good story.

[LarryH]

I haven't been following the details of the program. If the gun was not kept in a separate lock box, but in the pilot's flight case, it's quite possible that some other object in the case made its way (under the influence of vibration or g-forces) inside the trigger guard and placed enough force on the trigger to cause the "bang".

It's not always the booger hook that presses the bang switch.

[KC5AV]

and was last requalified in the FFDO program last November.

It sounds like he needs some further training and requalification.

[tomc]

With as much reconfiguring that they have to do, I'm surprised this is the first ND I've heard of. I know an American pilot who is an FFDO. He told me that they carry their loaded H-K .40S&W in a gun bag when they are off the airplane (he calls it his "man-purse"). Once secured in the cockpit, he then holsters the pistol. If he needs to leave the cockpit for any reason, he must unholster the pistol and return it to his bag. He then re-holsters the pistol when he returns. When he lands and exits the plane, he must unholster the pistol and bag it before leaving the cockpit.

That, to me, is a lot of unnecessary handling of the pistol and is just begging for an accident to happen.

[Ranger+P+]

I caught John Nance's comments on Imus--he played the incident smart, instead of going into full blown damage control, he stated the positives: Plane lost no pressure and landed safely and all of the passengers were not aware of the incident until after being told. He went on to defend the logic of Pilot's being armed--showing clips of the training where Pilot's qualify in New Mexico.

This is a training issue. I have participated in a Air Marshall Course of Fire about 2 years ago--and the safety mandates were strenuous for obvious reasons. I am sure the Pilots training is just as strenuous.

My first thought was that the guy had been drinking--if that is indeed the case, we can defend that as the exception to the rule and not the standard for the majority of Pilots (I Hope)

[ELB]

Was a trigger lock involved here?

Here's John Lott's speculation on it:
http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/2008/03/a ... rways.html

This is the first time that I have found of this type of discharge. I have had at least one pilot today tell me about the problems with the gun locks required on the guns. According to those that I have talked to, the gun discharged when the lock was being put on the gun. Are these guys supposed to unload the gun before they re-lock their gun.

He also points to Crimefilenews, which has these posts on FFDOs being required to lock the loaded gun into their holsters when ever they leave the cockpit:

Gun Accident In U.S. Airways Airliner Cockpit Was TSA Engineered!
http://www.crimefilenews.com/2008/03/gu ... t-was.html

TSA Arrogance Threatens Safety Of Air Travelers-Classified Information
http://www.crimefilenews.com/2007/12/ts ... f-air.html

I have seen the holster pictured at the posts advertised in magazines -- I forget the holster maker name, but I believe it was a topdrawar, recognizable name.

Food for thought. Will be interesting to see if a full report of the incident makes the news...